1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerator having an automatic food ordering function and a method for operating the same, and more particularly to a refrigerator having an automatic food ordering function and a method for operating the same, wherein the residual amounts of food articles in containers of the refrigerator are measured through sensors installed in the containers, and the food articles are automatically purchased over the Internet when the measured residual amounts are smaller than minimum proper amounts.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general terms, a refrigerator is a food storage case having a space for storage of food therein, and is adapted to cool its interior by use of electricity, gas, ice, etc. and thermally isolate the interior from its exterior by means of a thermal insulator, so as to store food at a low temperature while preserving it from decay.
An Internet-based refrigerator has recently been developed and widely used which has an online connection function in addition to a basic function of merely storing food at a certain temperature to keep it fresh. This Internet-based refrigerator functions as a Web pad for transmitting and receiving data to/from an external network over the Internet. To this end, the refrigerator comprises an input unit for receiving a command input from a user, and a display unit for outputting data through its screen.
The Internet-based refrigerator further comprises network connection means for transmitting and receiving data to/from the external network over the Internet, and a network microcomputer for processing data inputted through a key operation of the user and transmitting and receiving the processed data and external network data associated therewith through the network connection means. Through this construction of the refrigerator, the user can acquire desired information.
Further, through the display unit mounted on the outer surface of the refrigerator, such as a PDP, information regarding an internal state of the refrigerator can be displayed on the screen, as well as data transmitted and received to/from the external network connected to the Internet. As a result, the user need not personally open the door of the refrigerator to check the internal state of the refrigerator, resulting in prevention of unnecessary power consumption.
However, although the user can recognize the internal state of the refrigerator through the display unit as mentioned above, he/she cannot recognize the residual amount of food in a food package, such as a milk package, as long as he/she does not personally open the food package. For this reason, the user has the trouble of personally opening the food package to check the amount of food remaining therein. Furthermore, after checking the residual amount of food in the refrigerator, the user must separately operate a networking function provided in the refrigerator to gain access to the Internet and then order desired food to be purchased, or personally purchase the desired food offline.